Never As It Seems
by Natalia25
Summary: Things have been quite strained between Jenny and Jethro lately, and Jenny gets mailed several pictures about why Jethro is distant. Takes place during season 5. JIBBS, obviously.
1. Pictures

Author's Note: This, like all my other stories, came out of nowhere. :)

What you need to know: This is after Hollis Mann, so probably around season 5. Jethro and Jenny got back together, but they have been very distant lately after a case involving a dead child came up. So, yeah. This is what happens. :)

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS,**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

It was half past three – which meant it was time time for her to take a break. She was exhausted because she had been attending meetings all day, causing her to miss lunch. She had just finished signing all her case files and she could finally rest for at least ten minutes

Just as her eyes started to droop in what promised to be the most comfortable nap she had had in a long time, there was a knock on the door. She inwardly sighed.

"Come in," she muttered tiredly.

The door opened, revealing Cynthia, carrying a brown paper package with a string tied around it.

"Director," greeted Cynthia, walking into the room. "I found this when I came in this morning. It was sitting on my table and it has your name on it, but you were in a meeting at the time and I didn't want to disturb you. I just remembered about it just now."

"Thank you, Cynthia." She said, sitting up again. "Could you place it on my table, please?"

Cynthia placed the carefully wrapped package on Jenny's table and left quietly, shutting the door behind her. Jenny was prepared to fall asleep again, but found herself unable to. She was now wide awake and nothing would change that. She sighed, then cast a glance at the package, sitting comfortably among the stack of files. She raised an eyebrow, silently contemplating whether or not to get up from the comfortable position she was currently in or just force herself to fall back asleep. She decided on the former.

She stood up, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She walked over to her table and flung herself down on her chair. She picked up the parcel and examined it.

It was a relatively thin package, wrapped in brown paper that was very crumpled. A string was tied around it to secure it. There was a post-it note stuck to the top right corner of the package, with her name written in a very curly script.

She took out her knife from her pocket and cut open the string, throwing it into the bin along with the note. She unwrapped the package and found another post-it note, written in the same curly script.

_I know you'll like these photos._

She raised an eyebrow. So it was _photos_. She took of the note and threw it into the bin, then turned her attention back to the photos sent.

There were five pictures. She slowly looked at each photo, and turned green at what it showed.

Photo 1: Jethro and Hollis eating dinner together, sharing an intimate look with one another.

Photo 2: Jethro and Hollis walking in the park, hand-in-hand.

Photo 3: Jethro and Hollis kissing in his car outside his house.

Photo 4: Hollis straddling Jethro in his car, still kissing passionately.

Photo 5: Their shadows from outside his house, from the window of their bedroom. Their mouths were connected.

She dropped the photos onto the table and leaned back on the chair. So _that_ was why he was distant lately. He was cheating on her.

She could feel the tears prickling in her eyes. She couldn't believe that he would actually cheat on her. How could he do that to her, after telling her she was the only one he would ever love? How could he even look her in the eye after this? How could he ask her out, tell her he loved her then shamelessly cheat on her, not even two months into their relationship?

That manipulative bastard.

Now she was heartbroken. It was all a lie. Everything he had ever said to her – they were all lies. She cried into her hands, harder than before. Why had she trusted him? Of course he didn't love her. After Paris, after La Grenouille, only a fool would believe he could still love her.

She must've been crying too hard, because she realize that someone had come in until she felt a pair of feminine arms wrap around her neck. She cried into the shoulder of her friend, grateful that she was there.

"Jenny…" whispered Ziva, stroking Jenny's hair. "Why are you crying?"

In all the years that the two women worked together, not once had Ziva seen Jenny crying – at least, not this hard. It scared Ziva that her best friend was so broken.

Jenny continued crying on her shoulder, not answering her question. That was when Ziva spotted the pictures, scattered on the table.

Her faced turned from concerned to outraged in seconds.

"Gibbs," she whispered angrily. "He cheated on you."

Jenny nodded against her shoulder, still crying hard. Ziva closed her eyes and shook her head. That was not the Gibbs she knew – the Gibbs she knew would _never_ have cheated, _especially _on cheated. He loved her too much. Ziva just couldn't believe that Gibbs was capable of something like that.

But the evidence was right in front of her.

They remained in that position for five more minutes before Ziva suggested that they visit the only person who could make her feel better about it.

Ducky.

* * *

So, I'm still not sure about a sequel to my other story, The Shepard Family. Still need some help with that.:/

And also, I realize that not many Jibbs fans like Hollis, probably because she dated Gibbs while Jenny was still alive, and I have to say that I agree. Just sayin'. The writers probably chickened out on bringing Jibbs back together.

Anyways, please review and tell me if I should continue!

-Nat.


	2. Talking

Author's Note: I forgot to add in the last chapter that this was going to be a super short story, probably about one or two more chapters to go.:D

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Ziva had called Ducky up to the office, because Jenny refused to go out looking like hell. Ducky came up immediately after Ziva had explained what happened.

He immediately burst in, not bothering to knock on the door. He walked quickly to Jenny's side and hugged her, stroking her hair gently.

"My dear," said Ducky gently. "Jethro loves you. He would _never_ cheat on you. You know that."

"No, actually I don't." she said miserably, still crying. "He's been acting distant these past week, he barely even talks to me anymore. He's always at home with his boat and bourbon – at least, that's what he tells me."

"There was a case involving a dead child, Jennifer." He said, hugging her tight. "You know how he gets on those cases."

Nothing Ducky said could convince Jenny that Gibbs wasn't cheating on her. Ziva watched as Ducky just gave up after an hour, choosing instead to hold Jenny and stroke her hair as she cried.

Ducky knew, deep down, that his friend would never hurt Jenny. He knew, even though he saw the pictures, just how much Gibbs loved Jenny, and he knew that hurting Jenny was the last thing he wanted to do. He sighed.

He met Ziva's eyes, and they reached a silent agreement to meet Jenny's other half – together.

~NCIS~JIBBS~NCIS~JIBBS~

Ziva and Ducky were outside their friend's house. They had taken their own cars there, promising to meet each other at the said venue.

"Shall we, my dear?" offered Ducky, allowing Ziva to go first. Ziva smiled and walked up to the front door with Ducky not far behind. She entered without knocking, as usual, and opened the door to his basement.

He was there, alone, drinking bourbon from a mason jar and sanding his boat. He looked up when he heard two pairs of footsteps, and was surprised to see both Ziva and Ducky standing at the top of the stairs.

"Sorry to intrude, Jethro, but it seems that we have an important issue to discuss." Said Ducky, walsking down the stairs with Ziva.

"What issue?"

"Jenny," said Ziva, turning to face him.

"Why? What happened to Jenny?" he asked, worry and concern evident on his face.

"It's nice to see you actually care about her." Snapped Ziva, her eyes darkening dangerously.

"Ziva," warned Ducky.

Gibbs was taken aback by Ziva's sudden outburst, but didn't show it.

"What's wrong with Jenny, Duck?" asked Gibbs, turning to Ducky.

Before Ducky could say anything, Ziva stepped forward so that she was right in front of Gibbs, and threw the five photos on his chest.

He caught them and looked at each one, his eyes widening steadily at each one.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded.

"Oh, so _now _you care." Scoffed Ziva. "Someone sent them to her anonymously to Jenny, you cold-hearted, cheating, miserable piece of – "

"Ziva!" warned Ducky again, a bit more louder this time. "We agreed - no names or violence."

"I _sincerely_ regret that now." Said Ziva menacingly.

"You still agreed," reminded Ducky. He turned to Gibbs. "Why, Jethro?"

"Wait – you don't honestly think that I – _especially_ on Jenny -?" he stuttered, looking from Ducky to Ziva.

"What other explanation is there?" said Ziva, still glaring at him.

"Duck," said Gibbs desperately, "Do you honestly think that I -?"

"No, I don't," said Ducky honestly. "But it's not us you have to convince, it's her."

"She cried for _hours_ in her office, Gibbs!" hissed Ziva spitefully. "She refused to eat anything, she cancelled all her meetings and left early – you better make this right Gibbs, because she's really heartbroken, and I'm sure that once word gets out, you'll have to work hard to gain back all the respect from your team _and _Abby."

"Jenny believes that I would actually _cheat _on her?" he said in disbelief. When he didn't get an answer, he turned around, ran a hand through his face and punched the hull of his boat, hard. "_Damn it, _Jenny!"

"Explain to her, Jethro." Said Ducky wisely. "Explain to her what those pictures were, and why you were acting so distant towards her. She doesn't understand these past weeks and she's convinced you never really loved her in the first place."

Gibbs ran a hand over his face again. This week was _complicated, _and he didn't want to talk about it. He had a feeling he knew who sent those pictures to Jenny, and why they did it.

But for now, he was going to try and find Jenny.

After Ducky and Ziva left, he immediately changed into something comfortable but presentable to go out in, and left his house quickly.

He was on a mission – to fix the heart of the person he loved more than anything else in the world.

* * *

I know the chapters are kinda short, but I never intended for this story to be a long one, so yeah. :P

I have decided to write a sequel to The Shepard Family, it's called 'The Extended Family', so be sure to look out for that one!

Thanks to all the reviewers! Please take a second to write another one for me, ya?

- Nat.


	3. Fixing A Broken Heart

Author's Note: I present to you the last chapter of 'Never As It Seems'! Warning though, it will be soooo out of character on Gibbs' part, cause you know... I had to make him a little heartbroken for this.

Thanks to all those who reviewed!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

She had been bawling in her bedroom since she came home from work. There were no words to describe how heartbroken she felt. Even 'devastated' didn't come close to it.

It was five minutes to midnight when she finally decided to take a bath and try to fall asleep, even though she knew it would be useless. In the shower, she swore she could hear footsteps outside in her bedroom, but when she turned off the water, they stopped. She thought the footsteps sounded like Jethro's, but chalked it up to her imagination, since she was missing him so much.

When she finished, she wore her robe and dried her hair before leaving the bathroom. The minute she stepped out, she saw the very person that caused all her pain – the very person she loved with all her heart.

"Jethro," she breathed.

He was dressed in a simple shirt and jeans but was holding one red rose and a purple hyacinth in his hand. She noticed that the room was illuminated only by various amounts of candles placed in her room, mand there were rose petals on her bed, arranged to form a small heart in the center.

He walked up to her and hugged her, tucking her head under his chin.

"I know you think I've cheated on you, Jen." He whispered, holding her tightly. "But I would never cheat on someone I love as much as I love you."

She didn't reply him; she was too shocked that he was doing this. In a split second, she almost wanted to cry onto his shoulder for a long time, but then she remembered the pictures, the note and the crying she had done the entire day.

She wasn't going to forgive him unless he had a _damn good_ reason for her too.

"Why should I believe you?" she said coldly. His arms were still around her, but she made no move to push him away or hug him back. "Exactly _how _are you going to explain the photos?"

"They were taken a long time ago, Jen. From before we even got together." He explained, and he sounded so desperate for her to believe him that she almost did. Almost. "I was still with Hollis when this woman came up and threatened to kill her if I didn't leave her. She stalked us for a long time and kept sending us pictures of ourselves, reminding us that she was still watching. After everything, I gave the pictures to Hollis and told her to burn them. I swear I didn't cheat on you."

"That still doesn't explain how it got to me." Said Jenny, staring straight ahead.

"Hollis visited me a couple nights ago while you were working late, Jen." He whispered. "She came into the basement and told me she wanted to try again. I told her I was with someone I love, and I didn't want anyone else."

Hollis. _Hollis, _out of all people, sent those photos out of spite and jealousy, in hopes of breaking them up. Jenny remained unresponsive, because she really didn't know what to say. Should she believe him? Was this just another one of his many lies that he would tell just to hurt her even more?

A thought suddenly hit him – what if she was preparing to leave him? What if she was going to write another Dear John letter to him, explaining how she thought he could never really love her?

"Jen…" he said softly, "Are you leaving me?"

Again, she didn't answer. And he felt terrified – terrified that he was going to lose her again, and this time it would be his fault. He never wanted to lose her. He hugged her tighter and convinced himself that she was still here, and that he could still convince her to stay.

"Jenny, I can't lose you. You mean _everything _to me." He whispered, burying his face in her hair. "_Please._"

Slowly, she wrapped her arms around him as well. But she wanted – needed – to hear him say that she wouldn't leave him.

"Jenny, I – I love you so much." He said softly. "I would _never _hurt you, let alone cheat on you. You're the only one. You _have _to believe me. If I lose you again… I won't be able to take it. _Please _believe me."

She closed her eyes and buried her face in his shoulder, tightening her arms around him. She couldn't bring herself to say anything to him – at least, not yet. She needed to know that this wasn't a lie. She had a hard time trusting him, even after all the things he said to her.

"Jenny, if you leave me now, you'll take away _everything _that ever made me happy." He said in a soft, broken whisper. She could feel his tears on her hair – they were falling at a fast pace, wetting her hair quickly. "Don't leave me now, Jen. Don't ever leave me, because I love you so much that I can't stand to watch you leave. You have to stay, because if you don't, my whole world will fall apart and my heart will break. You're the only one I love as much as I do, Jen. Tell me you'll stay." He pleaded, "Tell me you'll _never _leave."

After a few long moments, she finally answered him.

"You won't have to see me leave, Jethro." She told him, kissing his shoulder. "I'm staying."

He breathed a sigh of relief and Jenny looked up at him, wondering how she could be that important to someone. He still didn't unwrap his arms around her, just pulled back a little to kiss her passionately.

"Jen?" he said, a little breathless after their kiss. "Promise me you won't leave me alone, Jen. Promise me you won't even _think _about leaving me."

"I promise."

He smiled and she smiled back.

"I love you, Jethro."

"I love you too, Jen… so much."

* * *

So... yeah. Hope you liked it ;-)

By the way, the sequel to The Shepard Family will be posted at the end of next week. I'm thinking of adding a little onshot to this involving Hollis' reaction, so yeah. I'd love to hear from you guys!

Please Review!

- Nat.


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